Yes, there are miles to go before we sleep:
After four months of vote recounts and bitter negotiations following May's indecisive election, in September Iraq's strife-ridden Council of Representatives voted to form the nucleus of a stable government when its parliamentarians agreed to select Barham Salih as president.
In early October, Salih chose Adel Abdul-Mahdi to be prime minister and charged him with forming a new national government. Abdul-Mahdi must accomplish this feat in 30 days. ...
Abdu-Mahdi's frail nucleus confronts huge challenges. Creating a stable and functioning governmental entity will take a decade or two of focused effort by the Iraqi people and the staunch support of key allies like the U.S.
This alone is a victory flowing from the 2003 war. A victory that flipped Iraq from terror-supporting aggressor to terrorist-killing ally that is bizarrely not recognized even as we stare right at it.
Yes, Iran has influence in Iraq. As a more powerful neighbor with shared religious ties, that's hard to avoid in the near-term. That influence is one reason Saddam invaded Iran in 1980. The problem continues. As that author argues, that's a reason to help Iraq resist Iran and not throw up our hands and walk away--again--to our regret:
Between the election in May and the recent protests in Basra, Iraqis are making it clear that they don’t want to be a vassal state of Iran. This presents an opportunity. The new Iraqi government will have to show its independence. With a little skill and luck, the U.S. can quietly give Abdul-Mahdi the support he needs to push back against Iran and address the economic misery in places like Basra.
More can be achieved if we stay to support Iraq against Iranian efforts to keep Iraq weak and help Iraq gain a stretch of peace to rebuild their country and society after decades of destruction caused by Saddam's cruel rule; Baathist, jihadi, and Iranian Shia proxy insurgencies and terror; ISIL conquest and terror; and Iranian-backed militias.
It is totally frustrating that some would walk away, claiming we've failed.
America's invasion of Iraq to overthrow Iraq didn't cause Iraq's many problems--our invasion gave Iraq an opportunity to overcome and correct them.
Let's hope we stay for the long haul to help Iraqis build a much better Iraq, resistant to corruption and Iranian influence.
